YOU ARE DEADPOOL #2

Previously in You Are Deadpool: “DID YOU EVER WANT TO BE DEADPOOL??? Now’s your chance! This weekly series is not JUST the most amazing comic book you’ve ever read… it’s also a role-playing adventure! YOU decide what choices Deadpool makes! YOU keep track of your scores issue by issue! YOU roll dice to combat various foes! Travel through Marvel history as Deadpool to meet Hulk in the swinging ’60s! To smell Man-Thing in the swampy ’70s! To be “seen” by Daredevil in the hard-boiled ’80s! And avoid the many BAD ENDINGS you could fall into…or suffer the consequences!”

JOYFULLY GOOFY ADVENTURE

During the events of issue #1, depending on Deadpool’s actions, each reader would have a score for their Badness and a score for their Sadness. If those scores were equal, you would read this issue next! Fortunately for me, my scores were either equal or I cheated, so we’re hear with ‘Pool in the swingin’ 60s. It’s 1961, to be exact, the dawn of the Marvel Universe, and his stolen time helmet has run out of charge! The multiple choice nature of the story gives the readers a chance to recharge it with Gamma Rays (the source of which should be obvious), Cosmic Rays (likewise) or emotional stimulation of the user. The brilliance of the issue comes in seeing how that stimulation arrives, with the option to invent Pop Art or a slam poetry contest against Bernard The Poet, one of Marvel’s finest forgotten characters. The bad ending is a hoot this time, and the guest-appearances are amusing, and if you survive, Deadpool is on his way through time once again…

INCREDIBLY INTRICATE PLOTTING AND FUN STORY

Perhaps the greatest gag in this issue full of great gags is the appearance of the [REDACTED] Four, poking fun at the disappearance of 50% of that group’s roster due to reputed editorial caveat. Ewing’s script deftly and savagely mocks this, whether it’s rumor or not, along with some wonderful moments involving lawyers, Rick Jones, the Red Scare and who can and cannot break the fourth wall. Paco Diaz does a great job this issue, and the production team designs the beginning of the issue to emulate the coloring and textures of those long-ago Marvel book. Diaz makes every panel pop, even the ones that are just Deadpool talking to the readers, creating some great sight gags and making the whole issue feel incredibly grounded in its scope and locations. Best of all, no matter what choices you make (and I’ve read the book like nine times to get all the options in), the art and story remain top-notch, with nary a weak spot to be had. Best of all, if you paid attention last issue and “picked up” the right items, your story options change.

BOTTOM LINE: WORTH IT FOR THE QUESTPROBE REFERENCE ALONE

As the issue ends, depending on your choices, you’re off to either #3, #4 or #5 next, but I’ll tell you right now: You’re gonna want them all. You Are Deadpool #2 is that rare example of a perfect comic-reading experience, making a hybrid of comics and Choose-Your-Own-Adventure something more than the sum of its parts, with excellent art and some truly inspired jokes and references, earning 5 out of 5 stars overall. Trust me, Faithful Spoilerite: You want this comic, even if you’re not usually a mark for Deadpool. It’s just that good.

[taq_review]

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About Author

Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture!
And a nice red uniform.